May 20, 2009

According to StatsCan, contractors took out $4.5 billion in building permits in March, up 23.5% from February, halting five consecutive monthly declines. March’s increase came mainly from the non-residential sector in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

Value of permits increases in March
Intentions in the non-residential sector rose 47.9% to $2.3 billion, in
the wake of increases in the commercial and institutional components in
Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. In the residential sector, the value of
permits advanced 5% to $2.2 billion. This increase was the result of
higher construction intentions in both multi-family and single-family
permits.

Non-residential sector
Following a 30% decrease in February, the value of the non-residential
sector increased in six provinces, mainly as a result of gains in the
commercial and institutional components. In the commercial component,
the value of permits increased 45.6% to $1.4 billion. This increase
came mostly from higher construction intentions for office buildings in
Ontario.

Permits in the institutional component increased 89.2% to $722 million,
following a 54.2% decline in February. This increase was largely the
result of higher construction intentions for medical buildings in
British Columbia and government and education buildings in Ontario.

In the industrial component, the value of permits fell 8.8% to $216
million following a 14.7% increase in February. The decline in March
was due to lower construction intentions in Prince Edward Island,
Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.


Residential sector
Municipalities issued $817-million worth of multi-family permits in
March, up 7.3% from February. Quebec and Alberta accounted for most of
the increase, although four other provinces showed higher intentions
for the construction of multiple dwellings. In contrast, British
Columbia posted a large decline.

Single-family permits halted their eight-month decline, increasing 3.7%
to $1.4 billion. Ontario and Alberta accounted for most of the gain.

Municipalities approved 11,305 new dwellings in March, up 10.5%. This
was due to a 26.5% increase in multi-family units to 6,479. The number
of single-family units approved declined 5.6% to 4,826 units.

Permits up in half of the provinces
The value of building permits increased in half of the provinces in
March. The most significant increases occurred in Ontario (+45.7% to
$1.8 billion), Quebec (+30.3% to $1 billion) and Alberta (+34.1% to
$696 million). The increases were mostly a result of higher
construction intentions in the non-residential sector.

Declines occurred in the Atlantic provinces, except for Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Manitoba and British Columbia.

Permits up in most census metropolitan areas
The total value of permits was up in 24 of the 34 census metropolitan areas.

Permits values increased in Toronto as higher construction intentions
in all non-residential components more than offset decreases in the
residential sector. The increase in permit value in Edmonton came from
both the residential and non-residential sectors. The value of building
permits in Vancouver fell 42% to $192 millions, the sixth decline in
seven months. This was a result of drops in all components except for
permits for industrial projects.